


When I Lose My Head, I Lose My Spine

by natureofstars



Series: Camp Avalon!verse [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, Camp Counselor AU, Gen, Hurt Merlin, Hurt!Merlin, Hurt/Comfort, Merlin AU, Slash if you squint, cameos from most of the round table, minor hospitilization, warning for snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-27
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 02:49:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1371178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natureofstars/pseuds/natureofstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin is the nature director at Camp Avalon, Arthur is a dick (but maybe cares?), and Merlin really hates pranks. OR Merlin and Arthur work at a boy scout camp. Slash if you squint</p>
            </blockquote>





	When I Lose My Head, I Lose My Spine

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place at a boy scout camp in the US. Obviously Merlin does not take place in America, but I don't have a clue how boy scouts works over there and since the whole point of this was 'write what you know' I'm not worrying about it. In my head they still have accents so do with that what you will.  
> Secondly, the barbaric policies the BSA has about queer scouts and leaders will not be brought up in this fic. While they've gotten better about scouts, leaders still face prejudice and discrimination even though they do so much for our boys, and it has to stop. But that is not the point of this fic. I still have a lot of respect for boy scouts and I hope they get their act together soon.  
> I have more ideas for this verse but I couldn't get them down so I started in the middle. No promises, but I have a lot planned for these two.  
> I won't- fine, beta credit to my sister (hersister-mirajane on tumblr) for reading this over for glaring errors and general suckiness  
> I do not own Merlin, unfortunately

   It was Week Two at Camp Avalon and other than being unseasonably hot, it was pretty normal for a Boy Scout camp. Merlin had been to dozen's like it, which in a way made it feel more like home. He'd only moved here for uni at the start of the last school year, and without anyone he knew in the area he had resigned himself to summer classes just to keep busy. Until his room mate Lance had brought up the Boy Scout camp he worked at every year and how they were always looking for staff if he had nothing better to do. And he didn't.

  
   And so far, he was enjoying himself. The staff was nice, even if the waterfront director was a bit of a jerk, and being back at scout camp made him nostalgic for his days as a Boy Scout. He'd gone to camp every year when he was younger, even been a CIT, or counselor-in-training, one year, but after he'd gotten his Eagle he'd never gone back. Given the summer he was having so far, he wasn't quite sure why he hadn't. He ran the nature lodge, which included several different merit badges including: geology, environmental science, fishing, mammal studies, soil and water conservation, and so on.

  
   The nature lodge was down the path from waterfront where the prat, Arthur, was. He wouldn't even mind the shouting and horseplaying if it weren't for the noise the boys made taking out canoes, which were on the back of the lodge, and that it allowed Arthur his God given right to bug Merlin multiple times a day for no particular reason. He couldn't count the number of times he'd come down to find someone had moved all his things from the cabinet, or in one annoying instance, placed a canoe entirely filled with pine cones right in the middle of the picnic table. Arthur maintained that he had nothing at all to do with that, but Merlin wasn't fooled. If some scouts had broken into waterfront without a lifeguard on duty, Arthur would be throwing a royal fit, and the fact that he thought the prank was hilarious was a key indicator that he was involved. Never the less, Merlin really enjoyed running the nature lodge, he enjoyed the staff, he enjoyed the boys. And if the visitors he got during free period were any indication, the scouts enjoyed him as well.

  
   Jake, a star scout from Troop 27, made a habit of joining Merlin down at the nature lodge during 'siesta' after lunch. Nature wasn't a terribly popular stop during the free period. Most of the boys were swimming or canoeing to escape the hot weather. Merlin appreciated the company and Jake liked playing with Aithusa, nature's pet snake. Merlin wouldn't let her out during sessions normally for the simple reason that she would probably get trampled (there was little risk of Aithusa biting one of the boys because she was so used to being manhandled at this point that she wasn't even phased). Jake was a nice kid who already spent half his classes down with Merlin. The scout was fascinated with snakes in a way that he didn't enjoy learning about snakes. He had an unusual knack for recognizing poison ivy but couldn't tell a grass snake from a cobra.

  
   Today, Jake had lunch cleanup, so Merlin was already settled in with the first session's homework (it was remarkable really, how lazy boys could be when it came to summer homework, he was half tempted to give them all incomplete's out of spite but decided to give them a talking to instead). He was just contemplating setting aside the homework and actually taking a nap during 'siesta' when he heard footsteps crunching down the path.

   "Hey, Merlin."

   "Hey, Jake. Aithusa was starting to get worried you weren't coming today. You're spoiling her, you know. God knows what I'm going to do with her next week without you to pamper her."

   "Might not have to worry. I was thinking about CIT'ing next week," He said it more like a question, and Merlin had a notion why.

   "There's an idea," Merlin said, smiling. He wouldn't mind having some help down at the nature lodge, and Jake was one of the few scouts in camp that would actually be useful at nature.

   "You think?"

   "You'd be good at it. Could always do with fresh meat around here," Merlin said with a smirk. Jake looked anxious but was suitably bolstered by the praise. Resigning himself to missing a well deserved nap, Merlin propped his feet on the table- no reason he couldn't be comfortable- and pulled his aviators over his face. He wasn't sure when he'd subscribed to the unofficial camp rule that all staff had to wear aviators, even indoors; maybe it was the unintentional date- no it wasn't a date- last weekend when Arthur took him to some sunglasses store on their day off when they'd been ditched by the rest of their fellow counselors. Arthur had shoved a pair of aviators on his face and said he was doing Merlin and the whole camp a favor. Maybe it was before that, when there'd been a game of 'steal Gwaine's glasses' down at waterfront which had ended up with Merlin propped lackadaisically in the lifeguard chair with Gwaine's sunglasses half way down his nose, doing his best impression of Gwaine's lazy drawl. Well, it had really ended with Merlin being bodily thrown in the water but that was beside the point. He couldn't deny the were convenient and gave the entire camp staff an untouchable air of cool.

   "So you gonna be rooting for us in the Fare Friday?" Jake asked, pulling Aithusa from her box.

   "I'm staff, I am completely impartial." In theory that was true. Camp staff weren't supposed to take sides at the games that took place at the end of each week. All the troops competed in various different themed challenges, and given that the theme was 'knights of the round table' this year, the games were a Medieval Fare, complete with swords fights, storming the castle, and water jousting (which involved two groups in canoes ramming each other with pool noodles).

   "Like you don't know Gwaine has already sided with Troop 92. They're just bribing him with coffee," Which was true, and from where Gwaine was at the craft barn he was only a hundred feet from the dining hall, besides.

   "But that's where you misunderstand Gwaine. Any leader, really. If you're gonna be a CIT here you need to understand something very important: delegation." Jake laughed but it was only partially a joke. Merlin was of the opinion that Gwaine took it a bit too far but what was the point of being in a leadership position if you didn't use it. And in Gwaine's defense, Gwen, who was head cook, had threatened to pour all the coffee down the drain if Gwaine walked through those doors again at a time that was not meals.

   "Don't tell 92, but the next time he sends a scout in to get him coffee, Gwen's dumping salt in it." Jake roared with laughter. Merlin cracked an eye open to tell Jake to be careful lest Aithusa decided he was being too noisy despite the attention Jake was giving her and tried to make a break for it, when Merlin stopped dead.

   Merlin carefully picked his feet up off the table and stood from his chair. "Jake, I need to see Aithusa for a moment, pass her over." Jake did as Merlin asked, a furrow between his eyes. With deliberate movements, he pulled the snake from Jake's arm, trying unsuccessfully to keep it from latching onto his own arm.

   "What's wrong?" Merlin kept his voice deliberately calm when he spoke.

   "This little guy is not Aithusa."

   "What'd you mean?"

   "Completely different snake."

   "Is it poisonous?"

   "Probably." _Very_. The snake was writhing in his hands, trying to get away and growing more agitated that it couldn't.

   "How-"

   "Someone's idea of a prank. Swap out Aithusa for a snake not so used to humans and more prone to bite. Which is fine because he hasn't bitten anyone, we'll just put him away and-" There was a loud crashBANG of falling canoes around the back of the lodge, lots of yelling, then retreating footsteps, all of which Merlin ignored, because he was too preoccupied with how the snake had attached its jaws to his arm. Merlin swore, and that was when Jake started looking alarmed because Merlin never swore in front of scouts, even when he'd been bitten. True enough, he'd been bitten by snakes plenty of time without flinching, but none of them had been poisonous.

   "Merlin?"

   "Grab my walkie for me, push the 'talk' button," He said. He spent half a moment trying to prize the snake off his arm, only for it to tighten its grip, before deeming the radio more important. "This is nature to med lodge, requesting assistance. I've been bitten by a venomous snake." Jake's eyes widened, and he took a half step back. A second later the camp nurse, Gauis' voice came over the radio.

   "I'm on my way. Do you know what kind of snake it is?"

   "Cottonmouth, I think, Some kid must've thought it'd make a good prank, but I'm not laughing." _It's a wonder the idiots weren't bitten catching it_ , he thought bitterly. "If I find out what they did to Aithusa, I'll kick their arses all the way up the road," He said, trying to put Jake at ease.

   Jake only said "Poisonous?" In a shaky tone.

   "Don't worry, Jake. Set the walkie down, I need you to run up the road and keep an eye out for Gauis. Make sure he finds us, yeah?" Jake nodded jerkily and dashed up the road. Of course, Gauis knew where nature was and would have no trouble whatsoever finding him, but he didn't need a panicking scout buzzing around and aggravating the snake.

Who was already looking considerably aggravated.

   It took considerable effort (and patience) to get the thing off his arm, and even more than that to get him back in the box. The snake only wanted to go free, but Merlin wasn't chancing it getting loose and being discovered by an unsuspecting scout. Finally, Merlin secured the snake and the lid to the crate with shaky hands, and was immediately glad the snake was taken care of because Arthur barreled down the path, shouting as soon as Merlin was in sight.

   "Merlin, what the hell happened?" He had clearly heard what Merlin had said over the walkie-talkie, but he didn't understand why the idiot came racing down here when Gauis was already on his way.

   "Jesus, Arthur, calm down," He said, seeing Jake trailing behind him, looking stricken. Merlin collapsed on the picnic bench, legs suddenly too shaky to hold him.

   "How the hell- what have you been doing keeping a poisonous snake down here?!" Merlin couldn't help rolling his eyes because _really._

   "I haven't been keeping a venomous snake down here, you prat, someone apparently thought it would be a funny joke." Arthur's outraged "WHAT?!" made him jump. "Jake, head back up and keep an eye out for Gauis." Jake hesitated. "Don't worry, I'm not going to keel over, now go on," And that was all the reassuring that he need because he ran back up the path.

   "Gauis knows how to find the damn pavilion, Merlin," Arthur said, like Merlin was being especially slow and Arthur was afraid the venom was already doing things to his brain.

   "I know that, and if he couldn't find it your loud mouth would give him a hint. I don't need Jake hovering, and giving him something to do might keep him from panicking." _Should've sent Arthur instead_ , he thought, and why was Arthur so panicked anyway? Surely he had an ounce of emergency preparedness, nearly every Boy Scout had dealt with a sticky situation on a camp-out before, and if this was the way that Arthur handled trouble...

   "Pass me my water," Merlin said. Arthur hesitated.

   "You shouldn't drink-"

   "I know, I have to clean the wound." Arthur nodded and handed it over to him. Merlin realized belatedly that his hands were shaking, bad enough that he had trouble opening the bottle until Arthur butted in.

   "Give it here." The words were annoyed, but the way Arthur took the bottle and held Merlin's arm as he poured water over the bite spoke of nothing but exceeding care. The bite was swelling and painful, but Merlin had a feeling it was more the adrenaline and shock that was making his head spin.

   "You don't suppose Gauis has the anti venom laying around, do you?"

   "No, but the hospital in town does. Snake bites are common around here."

   "Shit, I don't want to go to the hospital," He swore quietly. He hated hospitals and knew that if he went, he would be there all night, but even he had to admit at this point that it was probably necessary, because he had a very strong desire to pass out. Before Arthur could mock him for being a girl, he heard the rumble of Gauis' ATV speeding down the path. Merlin wouldn't admit it but he felt shaky with relief. The relief was short lived though; down the path ran Jake, guiding Gauis and a small crowd to the pavilion. Merlin groaned, which Arthur mistook for pain and immediately began fussing again. Jake looked paler than Merlin did, and was stumbling out an apology. He didn't get the chance to tell Jake not to apologize, he hadn't done anything wrong because then Gauis was in front of him, instructing everyone to give Merlin some space.

   "How are you feeling?"

   "Well it hurts. Wouldn't mind a bed at the moment." He thought dully of his misbegotten nap and how he needed it more now with all this excitement than he had in the first place. "You have the anti venom don't you?" He asked even though he knew the answer.

   "I'm afraid not, but it's a short way to the hospital and the poison won't take full effect for a few hours. I've already phoned the ambulance and informed them of the situation. The hospital will have it ready for us." Merlin groaned again.

   "Gauis that's really not necessary-" Gauis stopped him with a stern eyebrow. At least he might get a nap at the emergency room, he thought bitterly. Gauis asked him some base question with the intent to ascertain his mental state, but Arthur kept butting in to answer them until Gauis had to ask him to go keep the crowd back to give Merlin space to breathe. Merlin allowed himself a breathy laugh before going back to concentrating on not tipping off the bench. A minute later Gauis had Merlin loaded on the ATV with Arthur supporting him on one side ("I can walk fine, it bit my arm not my leg" he grumbled testily, though he stumbled even the short distance to the ATV). There was a blanket wrapped around his shoulders which he figured was more to do with his shaking than actually being cold, and then they were revving off toward the front of camp.

   The ambulance arrived minutes after they did, drawing more crowds of confused and concerned scouts. Merlin didn't have to deal with them for long. The EMT's bustled him inside the van, and with a last look at Arthur's worried face (had he run all the way up here from the other side of the camp?) the doors were shut and he was whisked away.

* * *

 

   The hospital was the hospital, boring and too white. They administered the anti venom and fluids and said he would be fine, though it would take a few days for him to feel back to normal. They tried to convince him to stay overnight, and even not return to camp when he was released, but he dismissed all of that out of hand. In any case, they absolutely insisted he stick around for a few hours to be on the safe side, and Gauis said he wouldn't sign off on Merlin returning to camp if he didn't, so he finally relented.

   It was past dinner time by then (Merlin hadn't been able to stomach much food, he'd thrown up on the way to the hospital and still felt queasy and weak). Lance came in, bringing some of Merlin's things and looking infinitely relieved.

   "I'm damn glad to see you're all right."

   "Everyone's making a big fuss over nothing."

   "Did you see yourself when they took you? You were paler than a sheet, Merlin, looked like you'd pass out any moment. It was a miracle you didn't fall off Gauis' ATV. Reckon you scared Arthur half to death."

   "Arthur? Like he was worried-" And he knew the words weren't true the moment he said them, remembered Arthur's panicked shouts down the path.

   "Are you having me on? He was in a state; still was when I left. He's been raging about the nimrods who tried to kill you, shouted at flags for a good twenty minutes before Gwaine could reign him in."

   "They weren't trying to- it was a prank, that's all. What's he going to do if he finds out anyway? Kick them out of camp?"

   "He'd probably put 'em up on charges, if he could get away with it. If he doesn't shoot them on the spot." Merlin was taken aback thinking of Arthur's fury over what happened to him, and thought that, just maybe, this whole fiasco might've been worth it if he only could've seen Arthur shouting at the assembled camp, defending Merlin's honour...

   It was late by the time they finally let Merlin leave the hospital, with Lance driving him back to camp; and it was well after lights out when they got there, which was probably good or he'd have a whole greeting party waiting for him and all Merlin wanted to do was sleep. Merlin was exhausted and sore. He was on orders to take it easy and not use his arm, which was in a sling, any more than necessary and as much as he liked permission to laze around, he was more irritated at how generally shitty he was still feeling. He was especially grouchy because he hadn't gotten near as much of a nap as he'd have liked at the hospital, with nurses coming in every time he'd nearly dozed off. Lance informed him that Uther, the camp director, had postponed his classes the next morning, and would do the same for the rest of the day if he wasn't feeling up to it (Merlin was starting to think he was really delusional now) so he could at least get some rest tomorrow. He didn't spare much thought for it now, too exhausted to care. He toppled onto his cot and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

  
   Merlin had been expecting Lance and the others to leave him be the next morning so he could catch up on some sleep, in accordance with the doctor's and Gauis' orders. He had never been a morning person, but he could at least wake up with his alarm, which he hadn't set last night. This being the reason he was so confused when Lance shook him awake the next morning.

   "Lemme sleep," He mumbled into his pillow.

   "Nope, up and at 'em," Lance said, far too cheery for so early in the morning. It really wasn't fair that he was getting less sleep here than he was at uni, or maybe he was getting as much sleep but working a lot harder. "You need to eat, Merlin. You were sick at the hospital and haven't eaten anything since."

   "Crackers," Merlin mumbled testily.

   "Not good enough, Merls. C'mon, you're the one who refused to stay overnight at the hospital. If you still feel awful after you eat you can come back and lay down." If Merlin was more awake he'd probably see the undercurrent of worry in Lance's actions, but as it was he was only irritated. He should thank his lucky stars that is was Lance that was waking him up and not any of the others; they'd probably steal his pillow from beneath his head and hit him with it till he came round.

   "Hardly. You realize the whole camp was worried about you, Merlin." Apparently he'd mumbled some of that out loud. "It took some convincing to stop the rest of that lot from going to the hospital en masse. Most of them waited up for you but you were half asleep before we even got here, I told them all to wait till morning. So you'd best get up and moving because I guarantee they'll come searching for you if you don't come up for flags." Merlin grumbled some things not safe for young ears but sat up none the less. Truth be told, he was touched. He knew he had friends here, his fellow counselors had been nothing but welcoming to him (most of them anyway); but he still believed that when it came down to it he was mostly just "Lance's friend." Somehow it didn't sound like that.

   "Once he heard you were going to be all right, Gwaine was practically green with envy. You, my friend, are the most popular man in camp, and we're all grateful it's not Gwaine because he would be milking this for all it's worth. Not that we're happy it was you, but..." He shrugged.

   "Who says I won't do the same?"

   "Ha, the fact that you're getting up right now is a good hint."

   Getting dressed was a pain, partly because his arm still hurt but mostly because Lance wouldn't let him abandon the sling. He insisted it wasn't necessary but Lance wasn't hearing it, so Merlin was forced to worry buttons and tuck in his scout shirt one handed (Lance at least helped him with his neckerchief). Merlin shoved his sunglasses on his face to hide how he looked like he'd been on a three day bender, and braved the rest of the camp.

   The sun was rising over the trees, clearing away the mist of the early morning. Troops in their class A uniforms were already trickling in and getting in formation at flags, while the counselors were circled in their usual spot near the craft barn. Gwen was the first to spot him. He was surprised she was out here and not in the kitchens, but he came to the conclusion that that was because of him, because as soon as she saw him she shrieked and flung herself at him, nearly knocking him down the hill.

   "You scared us all to death, Merlin," She said, squeezing him tightly. Merlin put his good arm around her and rubbed her back.

   "I'm fine, Gwen, don't worry about me. I'm tougher than I look."

   "Well that's not saying much," Gwaine said, pulling Gwen away so he could give Merlin a thumping hug that momentarily knocked the breath out of him. "You look pretty scrawny, mate, do you ever eat?"

   "I would if you didn't eat all the food first," Merlin grinned. Gwaine released him, only for Morgana, who was the shooting sports director- and not to be trifled with- to hug him next. Morgana was followed by every other one of the counselors, hugging him or giving him claps on the back. Even Arthur deigned to show he'd been worried, and Merlin's brain shortcircuited when Arthur pressed up against him in a tight hug- _he smells_ _amazing_ \- and whispered a fervent, "I'm glad your allright," in his ear. Merlin could feel the toned muscle beneath his uniform for the briefest moment, then Arthur pulled away so fast it left Merlin reeling.

   "As much as these louts will tease you about this, you did well, Merlin. Not everyone would have stayed so calm in such a crisis," Gauis said. Was it his imagination or were his eyes fixed on Arthur?

   "I agree," Uther said. Merlin hadn't even seen him, and he automatically stood up a little straighter. "You handled yourself well. There will be a full investigation into this and the perpetrators will be punished." The way he said it it sounded more like they would be executed than kicked out of camp.

   "That's really not necessary," He said sheepishly.

   "Yes, it is. Someone purposely replaced your snake with a venomous one with the intent to do harm. We're only lucky you realized and that no scouts were hurt. This goes beyond a harmless prank and I am putting an end to it now." Merlin did not want to be the person who stood in his way. Honestly, Merlin wasn't even that mad at the scouts who had swapped his snake. It was a prank, they probably hadn't even realized it was poisonous, though they were no doubt hoping that someone would mistake the cottonmouth as a harmless grass snake and be bitten.

   "Honestly, I just want to know what they did with Aithusa," He said once Uther had moved away to speak with a troop leader.

   "That's your big concern in all of this? I wouldn't want to go within a hundred feet of a snake if I were you. Are you sure that stuff didn't affect your mind?" Gwaine said, knocking obnoxiously on Merlin's head. Merlin gave him a shove.

   "Positive. It was only one snake that bit me, it was trying to defend himself, I don't hate all snakes. Besides, how happy would you be if you were being manhandled by a giant?" The general consensus remained that Merlin was nutters, but they let him be for the moment. Before long they were bullied into two rows and marching up the road.

   The whole camp was quiet at attention, though he heard some whispering and pointing in his direction as they filed in. Arthur and Gwaine posted the colors, and Merlin had to pull his arm from the sling to salute the flag during reveille. Instead of Arthur's usual morning talk afterwards, Uther stepped forward.

   "Good morning, scouts."

   "Good morning," The assembled scouts said in unison, but it was more subdued than usual.

   "You all know that one of our own was hurt yesterday. Counselor Merlin was bitten by a venomous snake and had to be taken to the hospital. I'm happy to report that he is fine and back with us today." There was a round of applause, and Merlin gave them a two fingered salute in recognition. The applause died quickly when Uther kept speaking. "However, that is not the end of this issue. There is still the fact that someone replaced the snake at nature with a venomous one. We all know pranks are a part of Camp Avalon, but this one has gone too far. Acting with the intent to harm another scout, let alone a counselor, is not an amusing matter, and the perpetrators will be punished.

   "After careful thought, and in the spirit of scouting, we are giving those who did this a chance to come forward. You have till the end of the day to speak with me, or further action will be taken." There was a menacing pause.

   "Nature activities for this morning will be postponed but afternoon sessions will still be held. Merlin assures me that all boys will meet all requirements for their Blue Cards, but they will have an extra session on Friday before the Fare so please plan accordingly. Any further changes will be announced at lunch. Camp dismissed." The groups dispersed towards the dining hall. A few scouts and leaders came up to Merlin, namely Jake, who still looked upset.

   "This isn't your fault, yeah? I should've checked Aithusa before you took her out," Which was true enough, even though half the kids in camp had handled Aithusa and there was no reason for Merlin to have thought anything was amiss. "You didn't put that snake in there, Jake. You stayed calm. You did what I asked you to do. And I'm perfectly fine. So stop worrying." Merlin ruffled his hair, but the scout still didn't look convinced, so Merlin changed tact. "If I'm to be laid up for a bit, I'd better see you back here next week to pick up the slack down at nature." Jake's demeanor changed. He finally smiled at Merlin and nodded.

   Merlin made it through breakfast, though eating was a pain with his left hand. Before he could go back down to the cabin to rest, Gauis pulled him to the health lodge and insisted on checking him over. He concluded the review with, "You're lucky, now go get some rest," and Merlin did just that.  
He slept through the first two sessions and awoke to the air horn announcing the third and last session of the morning. He sat up groggily and took stock of himself. He felt much better than he had earlier, more awake, almost human. There was a lingering ache in his muscles and an exhaustion that wasn't merited after a two hour nap, but other than that he felt good. He deemed trying to get back to sleep a waste of time, so he wandered up the hill to the craft barn.

   "Merlin!" Gwaine exclaimed upon seeing him. There was an excited titter among the scouts there, which Merlin mostly ignored. "Welcome! Sit!" He said grandly, waving a CIT out of his chair so he could shove Merlin into it. "Don't see you up around these parts much."

   "That's because he's usually working," Elyan, who was normally on the field leading sports but had a free period, interjected.

   "Are you implying that I don't?" Gwaine said, visibly offended.

   "Yes," Both Merlin and Elyan said. Gwaine only shrugged.

   "Fair enough. You. Go get Merlin some coffee." The tenderfoot he pointed at, who had been carving an eagle into a block of wood, got up quickly and ran in the direction of the dining hall.

   "I don't want coffee," Merlin said uselessly.

   "Nope, but I do, and if Gwen thinks that it's for you, she'll give it to him, probably send along some biscuits too." Merlin could only roll his eyes and agree that it was probably a good thing that it was not Gwaine who was hurt, because he'd have half the camp sending him flowers and sweets to aide his recovery and no one would get anything done.

   Uther informed him at lunch that a few Second Class scouts from Troop 6 had stepped forward as the perpetrators. They swore up and down that they hadn't realized it was poisonous, or at least that the poison would do anything more than make the victim queasy for a few hours, and that they were very very sorry. The parents and leaders were informed, and the boys came up and sincerely apologized to Merlin before being ejected from camp without fanfare.  
Lunch was the usual affair, and in no time Merlin was headed down the path towards nature. He had to prepare the afternoon sessions activities, which were actually the ones he'd planned for yesterday that were interrupted by his trip to the hospital.

   "Merlin," Someone called behind him, and he turned to see Arthur jogging toward him. He slowed his walk to let Arthur catch up. "You sure you're up for your classes? That leader from Troop 32 offered to cover if you needed the rest of the afternoon off."

   "I appreciate the offer but I'm alright. Besides, I think most of the boys think I'm cool enough for being bitten yesterday that they might actually listen to what I'm saying." Arthur laughed.

   "Well, you'd better take advantage of that while you can. They're sure to realize that you're an absolute idiot soon enough," He said smugly. Merlin elbowed him, but it seemed his sling prevented Arthur from retaliating.

   "Since when are you offering me time off? I figured you'd be the first person to tell me to get off my lazy arse and back to work."

   "I'm just glad you're all right," He said, and there was an honesty in his tone that took Merlin aback. It was so rare that Arthur said anything to Merlin that wasn't teasing or joking. Arthur rectified it a moment later. "Honestly, I just don't want you to keel over on me, that would be an awful lot of paper work and frankly you've already caused me enough."

   "Oh, well, apologies, my liege," Merlin said with a mocking bow.

   This time Arthur did shove him.


End file.
